gentle1
adj.
(gentler, gentlest)
- mild and kind in temperament or character.
- moderate in effect or degree:
a gentle breeze.
- archaic noble or courteous.
v.
make or become gentle.
▸touch gently.
Derivative
- gentleness n.
- gently adv.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. gentil ‘high-born, noble’, from L. gentilis (see gentile).
gentle2
n.
Fishing a maggot, especially the larva of a blowfly, used as bait.
Etymology
C16: prob. from an obs. sense of gentle1, ‘soft, pliant’.